1h 38min | Musical, Fantasy | 9 April 1943
Directors: Vincente Minnelli, Busby Berkeley (uncredited)
Stars: Ethel Waters, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong, Rex Ingram, Duke Ellington & Orch, Hall Johnson Choir.
Archie Savage ... dance director (uncredited)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035703/
First onscreen director credit for V.Minnelli. He staged musical numbers for Panama Hattie ('42) and IMDb lists him as 1 of 2 uncredited directors (in addition to the credited one).
Very strange to see LH as a seductive woman. She usually just stands up and sings. Here she's playing a part (and sings).
In the Tap! Appendix for Bill Bailey, John Bubbles. We definitely get 2 tap routines, and I believe J.Bubbles is the dapper one twirling the cane in sc22, Shine, and dancing with EW in sc26 (Honey in the Honeycomb reprise; she does a couple of high kicks). The other tap routine, likely Bill Bailey, is in sc14, Takin' a Chance on Love, the most familiar song in the film. Soundtracks lists 9 songs overall.
This takes place in a time when the new washing electric machine that gets delivered looks like something from the 30's. The whole thing is so stylized, without automobiles, so it's tough to pinpoint the time. No mention of the war.
The commentary track has 6 voices, primarily Dr. Todd Boyd, a black professor of Critical Studies within film at USC with Drew Casper. He brings the modern interpretation of racial aspects, some of which raises my eyebrow. For instance, when describing the 2 types of women in the film (and there are only 2 named women) as matriarchal vs tramp, my reaction is "that's not just a black thing, it's a woman thing." The other assertion I frowned at: that by awarding the lottery winnings to EA, the film asserts that EA is an immature/weak/unable to handle money. Well, yes, I think most people who get a bulk of money, especially unearned money, don't handle it well. $50k in 1943 is $730k in 2'2018.
The musical numbers are "integrated" as D.Casper calls it; namely the songs had a dramatic function within the story.
This is good stuff; valuable for how mainstream H'wood delivered an all-black story in '43, and for the performances of the stars.
MGM, dir. Minnelli & Berkeley; 7
